Special Service and Features
Two-day Regional Workshop for the South Zone on ‘PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan’ begins in Kochi
PM GatiShakti National Master Plan is enabling integrated planning and synchronized implementation for last-mile connectivity across the country, says Special Secretary, DPIIT
Rs 784 crores disbursed to Southern States including Rs 96 crores to Kerala
Kochi, March 10, 2023
PM GatiShakti National Master Plan  is a transformative approach that enables integrated planning and synchronized implementation for multimodal and last mile connectivity across the country, said Smt. Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary, DPIIT, Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Smt. Sumita Dawra was addressing the media on the sidelines of two days Regional Workshop for the South Zone on PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan in Kochi from today. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are among the participating states. Five UTs including Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu are also participating in the Workshop.
Throwing light on the objective behind organizing the Workshop, Smt. Sumita Dawra said it aimed at demonstrating best practices in connection with PM Gati Shakti Scheme. “The States should get inspired by each others' activities and learn from each other,” she further added.
She added that a good instance of implementing the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan was the Comprehensive Port Connectivity Plan which was approved under it. It included 191 Road-Rail to Port connectivity projects worth nearly 1,50,000 crs. They were currently being taken up as Sagarmala connectivity projects. In addition to this, 107 road and rail projects were identified with respect to ports under the infrastructure connectivity gap project. These projects were part of the Gati Shakti Scheme and were in the Pre-feasibility stage.
Under Part-II of the “Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure”, Rs.5,000 crores was earmarked for PM GatiShakti-related expenditure in the States in FY 2022-23. A total of Rs. 784 crs was disbursed for the southern states including Rs 96 crore to Kerala, Smt Sumita Dawra informed.
Shri . Suman Billa, Principal Secretary, Industries & NORKA, Kerala, Shri Sudip Chaudhary, Chief Engineer, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Shri Kamlesh Gosai, ED  Railway Board also attended the media interaction .
Day One of the Workshop featured discussions on infrastructure and social sector planning, a demonstration of the adoption of PM Gati Shakti with a holistic approach, and a demonstration of best practices by States/UTs, followed by a presentation of the Unified Logistics Interface Platform  to showcase the different components of logistics.
In the presentation by the States segment, Shri Ratheesh S, ADM, KSIDC and Dr Tony Rajan Mathew, Project Consultant, KIIFB, Kerala shared the best practices from the State and mentioned that the Sabarimala Greenfield Airport Project was mapped on the National Master Plan.
Day 2 of the Workshop will feature a presentation on the salient features of the National Logistics Policy and Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan, along with discussions on formulation, implementation, and monitoring of State Logistics Policies to create sustainable cities. The day’s programme will also include a visit to Kochi Port to study Port Connectivity and Coastal projects.
The Regional Workshop in Kochi is the second among the five regional workshops being planned across the country. The first regional workshop was held in Goa on February 20, 2023. They are being organized by DPIIT in partnership with States/UTs and aim at bringing about more vigor and building synergy with all the stakeholders of the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan . The regional workshops are also focusing on strengthening the institutional mechanism of State Technical Support Units  for integrated planning. Identifying common challenges and issues in the adoption and implementation of PM GatiShakti NMP and discussions on roadmaps for the adoption of PM GatiShakti for planning at the district level are also key focus areas.
All 36 States/UTs have constituted an Empowered Group of Secretaries , Network Planning Group , and Technical Support Unit  for integrated planning and project implementation of the PM GatiShakti NMP.
RRTN/SKY
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